


rules

by yestoday



Series: listen carefully (college au) [2]
Category: UP10TION
Genre: I know they're underage I'm sorry, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, and his problems, didn't write the really sour stuff though, it's really just hwanhee though, side!weiyoul, side!woohoo, xiao legit is so hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 15:34:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7538272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yestoday/pseuds/yestoday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rule Number One of being best friends with somebody your whole life: don't hook up with them.</p><p>Rule Number Two: don't do the above and then fall in love with them.</p><p>Rule Number Three: don't ignore said best friend for two weeks until your other friends get tired of seeing you moping around and lock you in a closet with him.</p><p>Hwanhee, in a spectacular and grandeur display, has broken all three rules.</p>
            </blockquote>





	rules

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for Xiaohee.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry I suck at writing. As I like to say, I don't have a gift, just a dream.

See, the thing is, Lee Hwanhee and Lee Dongyeol have been best friends since they were two. People used to joke that they could be like brothers, even sharing the same surname.

 

And throughout the course of this sixteen year friendship, Hwanhee has never seen Dongyeol as anything more than a bro. His best friend. Irreplaceable. Unchanging. Constant.

 

Except now, Dongyeol's lying on Jinwook's couch with a bottle in his hand, his lip caught between his teeth in a little half-smile, and his shirt ridden up to showcase a few inches of the six-pack underneath. Hwanhee's stomach is doing weird things that it definitely should not be doing, and he wonders if he's drunk too much and is about to puke all over Jinwook's clean carpet.

 

It's not his fault that Dongyeol is so damn attractive. It's not his fault that he wants to climb on top of Dongyeol and run his tongue over the planes of his abs. It definitely isn't his fault that Dongyeol decided to wear a thin grey shirt and ripped black jeans to his birthday party, and that he looks  _so good_ Hwanhee could cry.

 

"Yah, Lee Dongyeol! I know you just turned eighteen but that doesn't mean you can go around flashing your abs at everybody," Wooseok teases, reaching over to pull Dongyeol's shirt down so it covers his belly. Dongyeol grins up at him, and Hwanhee tries to ignore the foreign, unpleasant feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

 

"Sorry hyung." Dongyeol sits up, still smiling widely. "I just wanted to show Sungjun-hyung up."

 

"Look at him being all insolent now that he's of age," Sungjun complains from his place with Yein wrapped around him. "We should've just left him at the daycare."

 

Dongyeol rolls his eyes playfully. "But I'm not a baby anymore hyung!" he sing songs, standing up and stretching with his arms above his head. Hwanhee quickly looks away, fighting the blush threatening to creep up his neck. Right. Dongyeol definitely isn't a baby anymore.

 

Hwanhee wonders, not for the first time, how inebriated he is. He's grateful that the party has dwindled down from a huge gathering of people he barely knows to just the few that he's close to. Even if they're on cleanup duty with Jinwook later.

 

"Hwan-ah!" Dongyeol suddenly bounds up to him and slings an arm around his neck. "I don't have to call you hyung anymore!"

 

Hwanhee pretends to look affronted, even though he can barely think with Dongyeol so close to him. When did this happen? He used to sleep next to Dongyeol and never batted an eye. Heck, they took showers together up until the age of seven.

 

"Just wait till May next year," Hwanhee sniffs. "You only get five months of this liberty."

 

"Hey, but hyung!" Dongyeol is still grinning. It's blinding. He shows a lot of teeth when he smiles. "I'm of age now! I can finally do stuff legally like drink alcohol and go clubbing and-"

 

"Have sex?" Sungjun snipes from the loveseat. Yein immediately hits him (gently) and Hwanhee chokes on air.

 

He stands there coughing for a few minutes, acutely aware of Dongyeol's hand patting his back.

 

"Hyung!" Dongyeol protests even as he holds onto Hwanhee.

 

"You okay, Hwan-ah?" Sooil slides into the room with Minsoo in tow. 

 

Hwanhee decides that he better think fast. It's perfectly normal for boys their age to have sex. Hormones, and all that. But for some reason, Hwanhee doesn't sit too well with the idea of Dongyeol messing around with anyone other than...

 

Forcing himself not to finish that sentence, Hwanhee stands up straight. "Yeah. I'm fine." He directs a glare towards Sungjun, a halfhearted one at best. "You're so odd, hyung. Is that what you were thinking when Yein-hyung became of age?"

 

Sungjun's face goes red and he sputters incoherently, while Yein snickers softly, still curled around next to him. Dongyeol holds up a hand for Hwanhee to high-five. "Good one, Hwan-ah."

 

"Anyway, I used to take showers with you. Don't make me feel weird by talking about stuff like that," Hwanhee babbles on, thinking that he might as well come up with an excuse.

 

"Sure," it's not Sungjun who sends a teasing look his way this time, but Wooseok. "That's totally it."

 

Hwanhee has to pause and wonder why it seems like the whole world knows something he and Dongyeol don't. The younger is still grinning in amusement, "You guys are weird. Where's Jinwook-hyung?"

 

With perfect timing as always, Jinwook pushes open the door to his apartment with Gyujin and Changhyun in tow, carrying bags of cleaning supplies. "Cleanup time!" he calls, and is met with welcoming grumbles and groans.

 

As feather dusters and brooms are handed out, while Dongyeol is distracted with arguing with Jinwook about whether or not the birthday boy is required to clean up too, Wooseok slides up to Hwanhee and lowers his voice.

 

"Don't think I didn't notice you staring at him all night," Wooseok smirks.

 

Hwanhee ignores him.

 

* * *

 

It's nearing 4AM when Dongyeol and Hwanhee finally stumble back to their apartment. He's just grateful that they have no classes tomorrow, because he just knows he'll be suffering from a massive hangover when he wakes up. After cleanup, the ten of them sat around Jinwook's living room and drank some more. Predictably, by the time Jinwook waved them all out, Wooseok was inebriated and wrapped around him, kissing at his neck.

 

Meanwhile, Dongyeol and Hwanhee walked the two blocks to their shared apartment, Hwanhee fumbling with the key for a few minutes while Dongyeol laughs at him.

 

The two of them pile into the kitchen, both tired yet unable to sleep till the buzz they were on died down.

 

"So, you're finally eighteen," Hwanhee surmises, grabbing a glass of water.

 

"Yeah," Dongyeol nods, stealing the glass of water from Hwanhee. "I can have sex now."

 

"Why do you keep bringing that up?" Hwanhee frowns. "Isn't it weird to talk about that?"

 

"Not really," Dongyeol shrugs. "We're best friends. Who else would I talk to?"

 

Hwanhee's feeling all warm suddenly. "Oh. Yeah. But... haven't you done it before?"

 

Dongyeol shakes his head. "Nah."

 

"Look at you, a good law-abiding minor," Hwanhee teases, and Dongyeol laughs.

 

"Not minor anymore. Have you done it before?"

 

The question comes out of the blue, yet Hwanhee feels like he should've expected it. "No."

 

"Why not? You're really pretty." Dongyeol comments off-handedly.

 

"P-pretty?" Hwanhee flushes red.

 

"Yeah. You are. And you're really nice and cute and funny..." Is it just Hwanhee's imagination, or is Dongyeol leaning in closer? Hwanhee feels his back against the edge of the kitchen counter-top. Suddenly, Dongyeol is looming over him, caging him in. Since when did his best friend get so tall?

 

"Dongyeol..." Hwanhee's voice cracks and he feels embarrassed for a split second. "What are you doing?"

 

"Can I have one more birthday present from you?" Dongyeol says softly, biting on his bottom lip. It's even more enticing up close. Hwanhee wants to melt.

 

"It isn't your birthday anymore," Hwanhee points out, but he finds his own gaze locked on Dongyeol's lips.

 

He knows where this is going. He knows Dongyeol is drunk and probably has sex on the brain. He knows he isn't drunk enough to forget all this in the morning. But he can't bring himself to care.

 

"Can I kiss you?" his best friend asks him.

 

Before he can stop himself, Hwanhee nods.

 

Dongyeol's lips are on his and suddenly all his senses are heightened and everything feels amazing. Dongyeol's hands are on Hwanhee's hips, his own fingers tangling into the brunette's soft hair, and all of a sudden Hwanhee wants more and more and more...

 

In the haze of stumbling into Dongyeol's bedroom, their clothes littering the hallway as they go, moaning into Dongyeol's mouth as the younger's fingers touch right where he needs them to be, and Dongyeol pressing hot open-mouthed kisses down his neck, Hwanhee lets himself forget that this is his best friend.

 

* * *

 

Hwanhee wakes up with a pounding headache and the bitter taste of regret.

 

But he turns to his side and there's Dongyeol, his brown hair a messy halo around his head, sleeping peacefully with his mouth open. Hwanhee feels his heart skip a beat. It's like he's just seen an angel.

 

It's not the first time Hwanhee's woken up next to Dongyeol, but it certainly is the first time he's done so stark naked. Gingerly, Hwanhee gets up, wincing a little. He's sore. In a good way.

 

Hwanhee grabs one of Dongyeol's sweatshirts and pulls it over his head, not bothering with shorts. He looks back at the sleeping form on the bed one last time before he goes out. 

 

He can't believe he'd just lost his virginity to his best friend.

 

Hwanhee goes about his day as per usual, making pancakes for breakfast and pouring half a bottle of maple syrup over his portion. If Dongyeol were awake, he'd nag Hwanhee about sugar and health and stuff. If he didn't remember, that is. Hwanhee still isn't sure if Dongyeol had been sober enough to remember.

 

Around half an hour later, when Hwanhee is going through the Sudoku puzzle in the newspaper, Dongyeol's bedroom door opens and the eighteen-year-old trudges out with an expression of abject pain on his face.

 

Hwanhee offers him a glass of water and Advil. After taking them gratefully with a murmur of thanks, Dongyeol collapses onto a kitchen chair.

 

Hwanhee holds his breath. 

 

"Ugh, my head is killing me. You made pancakes! I love you," Dongyeol says in one breath before shovelling pancakes into his mouth. "And why'd you put all the maple syrup Canada exported in the last twenty years on your pancakes? You're going to die before you reach thirty."

 

Hwanhee lets go of the breath.

 

* * *

 

It's not really Hwanhee's fault that he avoids Dongyeol and makes up something about having to meet Wooseok. There isn't really a precedent for that kind of situation, so what was he supposed to do? It was just awkward, especially when the younger just went about like nothing had happened and Hwanhee can still recall the feeling of Dongyeol's abs against his tongue. 

 

And other parts of him against Hwanhee's tongue. The blonde pushes those poisonous thoughts away.

 

Instead, he sits at the cafe and waits for Wooseok to show up. After debating with himself, Hwanhee had finally pushed away his pride and called the redhead. He needed all the help he could get.

 

Wooseok shows up with Jinwook in tow, both flushed from the cold weather. It's still December, after all.

 

"This better be an emergency like you said," Wooseok sits down opposite him without even a greeting. Jinwook sits next to him, and is nice enough to wave.

 

Wooseok glares. "You dragged me away from a very nice blowjob."

 

Jinwook sighs and puts his head in his hands. Hwanhee wonders how he deals with Wooseok all the time.

 

"It is. And trust me, you'd complain if you weren't the first person I told," Hwanhee says.

 

"The first person? So you haven't told anyone else about this? Not even Dongyeol?" Wooseok raises a suspicious eyebrow. He suddenly looks a lot more interested. "Okay, go on."

 

"So I might have slept with my best friend," Hwanhee blurts out.

 

Jinwook gapes at him. Wooseok claps gleefully. "Ooh, drama. And?"

 

"And I might also like my best friend? Like, like-like him."

 

"Just to clarify," Wooseok cuts in. "We are talking about Dongyeol right?"

 

Hwanhee nods. Wooseok looks smug again. "Wonderful. I knew something was going on between you two."

 

"But the thing is, there's nothing going on between us," Hwanhee protests. "Yeol doesn't even remember. He was drunk, and horny I guess. And I just happened to be there."

 

Jinwook looks sympathetic to his plight. Wooseok does not.

 

"What nonsense is that?" Wooseok is frowning. "No, Hwan-ah. I think Dongyeol does like you. Nobody sleeps with a person they aren't at least a little bit attracted to."

 

Hwanhee rolls his eyes. "Sure. But even if he does like me, and that's a really big _if_ , it's not the same kind of like."

 

"How many kinds of like are there?" Wooseok wonders. "I only know the kind of like synonymous with Jinnie."

 

Jinwook (who, in fact, is 'Jinnie'. And Wooseok is the only person who can get away with calling him that) blushes and clears his throat. "Baby, you're not exactly giving Hwanhee really great advice."

 

Wooseok pouts, but doesn't argue. He rarely ever does with Jinwook. 

 

"So what are you going to do now?" Jinwook asks Hwanhee.

 

"I don't know. I couldn't talk to him this morning. I just ran out," Hwanhee admits. "What should I do?"

 

"I think he should at least know what he did," Jinwook says after a moment. "Give him an opportunity to think about all this. Then you'll have to deal with what comes after that. Who knows how he'll react?"

 

"I still think Yeol and Hwan are a thing," Wooseok says stubbornly.

 

"Sure, baby," Jinwook presses an affectionate kiss to Wooseok's temple. 

 

"Tell him," he tells Hwanhee. "About what you guys did, and also about your feelings for him. You never know what could happen."

 

* * *

 

 

Hwanhee doesn't tell him.

 

In fact, Hwanhee doesn't talk to Dongyeol at all.

 

For days after that, Hwanhee's always trying to pluck up the courage to tell Dongyeol what happened on the night of his birthday, but every time the brunette walks in looking gorgeous as usual, Hwanhee freezes up. His next instinct is to flee. So he does.

 

This goes on for two weeks. Hwanhee makes sure he's out the door by the time Dongyeol is in the kitchen. At night, he's either back way after Dongyeol is or he's already locked up in his room by the time Dongyeol comes home. They haven't had dinner together in days, although they normally make it a point to.

 

And it's all because Hwanhee's a huge coward.

 

He thinks that Dongyeol must be confused, why is his best friend ignoring him? But it really isn't Dongyeol's fault. It's Hwanhee's. It really is, and only he can fix it. 

 

He's practiced his speech a few dozen times in front of the mirror in his room. What he would say to Dongyeol and how he would confess that that night meant a lot more to him than it probably did to Dongyeol. He's just never used it. It's like differentiation. Who in their right mind would use differentiation out in the real world? Nobody, that's who.

 

Jinwook gives him a lot of concerned looks and Wooseok whines at him, but other than that they let him be. Hwanhee suspects Jinwook has to do a lot of persuading behind the scenes to get Wooseok to give him some time. He's grateful. Hwanhee wants to tell Dongyeol. He just isn't ready yet.

 

* * *

 

 

He isn't ready now, either.

 

Hwanhee silently curses Wooseok and Sungjun and hell, Yein played a part in this too, so curse that ray of literal sunshine.

 

Dongyeol stares blankly at Hwanhee from the other end of the closet. Although really, he's only about a foot away, since they're tucked in among all the coats and clothes Yein's stuffed in here over the years.

 

"I don't know what they're thinking," Hwanhee blurts out, because anything is better than this silence. "It's not as if we both don't have places to be or something. And we live together. What don't we talk about at home that needs to be discussed in this small, stuffy, cramped-"

 

"We haven't talked in a while though," Dongyoel interrupts frankly. Hwanhee's inner chatterbox withers and dies. He'd hoped he could just talk his way out of this awkward mess.

 

"Ah. Right."

 

Another beat of silence.

 

"Are you mad at me?" Dongyeol asks.

 

Hwanhee shakes his head emphatically. "No, no, I'm not. Look, it's just-I just-Yeol, do you remember what happened the night of your birthday party at Jinwook-hyung's place?"

 

This is it. Hwanhee's going to do it.

 

Dongyeol's brow furrows. Hwanhee finds it adorable. "Um, not really. I just remember cleaning up and drinking a lot, then nothing."

 

Hwanhee takes a deep breath. "Okay. So you don't remember coming back to the apartment? Or-or doing anything after that?"

 

Dongyeol shakes his head. Hwanhee steels himself.

 

"Well, we had sex."

 

Whoops, there it is.

 

Dongyeol's jaw drops. Hwanhee is fairly sure they could barbecue meat on the heat emanating from his face.

 

"We did?"

 

Hwanhee nods.

 

Dongyeol laughs, "I thought it was a dream!"

 

"What," Hwanhee isn't sure what emotion to put behind the word, so he settles for a lifeless, blunt 'what'.

 

"Yeah, I-I thought it was just another dream, and it didn't really happen," Dongyeol explains, still looking weirdly happy.

 

"Just another dream? You've had dreams like that before?" Hwanhee doesn't mean to sound smug. Or elated. Or anything.

 

"W-well, yeah," Dongyeol shrugs. "I mean... you're cute, Hwan-ah."

 

Hwanhee doesn't know what to say to that.

 

"So we really did have sex?" Dongyeol asks, and Hwanhee nods in confirmation. "Did you enjoy it?"

 

 _Jeez, this kid._ "Y-yeah of course I did," Hwanhee sputters. "B-but that's not important! What's important is that... you've dreamed of us together before... a-and I think I love you!"

 

Silence. Hwanhee starts fumbling for the door. He'll break it down if he has to.

 

"Damn it, Hwan-ah," Dongyeol complains. "I wanted to be the one to tell you first."

 

Hwanhee stops. And stares.

 

"I love you too," even in the dim lighting, Dongyeol's wide smile is visible. "Since high school, in fact. I've been meaning to tell you, but... guess I was a coward."

 

"Guess we're both cowards," Hwanhee agrees, laughing with him. "I've been trying to pluck up the courage to tell you for weeks! That's kind of why I started ignoring you."

 

"Idiot," Dongyeol mock-scolds. "That's a dumb way to treat the person you love."

 

Hwanhee swears his heart is beating at twice its normal speed. "I know. I'm sorry."

 

"S'okay now," Dongyeol reaches forward and pulls Hwanhee into a hug. The older sighs, content as Dongyeol murmurs against his ear, "So shall we pick up back where we left off?"

 

Hwanhee has just pressed his lips to Dongyeol's when the closet door is suddenly flung open.

 

"Aha! You two finally came out of the closet!" Wooseok's voice rings out. Hwanhee contemplates murder. Homie-cide.

 

There's a scuffle, during which Jinwook is heard pulling Wooseok away and Changhyun's voice is added to the mix, telling Minsoo and Sungjun to 'pay up'. Without even breaking away from Hwanhee, Dongyeol reaches out and grabs the closet door, pulling it shut with a slam.

 

"Did you just slam the door on our friends so we can make out?" Hwanhee giggles, feeling a little lightheaded.

 

Dongyeol murmurs his assent, refusing to let Hwanhee go.

 

"So what are we now? Like, boyfriends?" Hwanhee's mouth feels the need to run instead of doing more important things.

 

Dongyeol nods, hands skimming up Hwanhee's sides. "If you want." He sounds impatient. Hwanhee can't blame him.

 

"I can't believe we didn't get together earlier," Hwanhee mumbles. 

 

"Stop talking," Dongyeol tells him, and he does.


End file.
